Like many of you, I completely replaced all of the wood in my boat (years ago)<br /><br />I could only speculate as to how the water entered the wood, as it was a used boat. My best guess? It was left outside uncovered, along with many abandoned fastener holes in the floor.<br /><br />So, I re-built all of it, and even re-foamed it. The new floor was covered in fiberglass and everthing (including the seats) where glued to the floor (no mechanical fasteners!)<br /><br />About 4 years later, water was discovered in the floor cavity! So what went wrong?<br /><br />I have my own theory, but I am open to suggestions. Let me add the follwing to paint a clearer picture, and lets hope this doesnt happen to any of you!<br /><br />Boat 16' fiberglass runabout with 90hp outboard.<br /><br />Used on freshwater lake for approx. two weeks per year.<br /><br />Trailered and stored in a heated garage the remainder of the year.<br /><br />Hull condition excellent, except for several small gelcoat chips and a small area at the stern end of the keel where the gelcoat was rubbed off.<br /><br />Thanks for any input, I think we can save some future heartache for many others here.
<br /><br />I'm not a big fan of storing boats outside covered. As far as I'm concerned, that just makes a great big water (condensation) factory.<br /><br />We all (including the factory) make mistakes as far as water drainage goes. It's a never ending battle.<br /><br />If it's any consolation, the mariners of old days invited water into their boats to keep the beams and planks swelled.<br /><br />We've been led to believe that we can keep them bone dry-a myth.<br /><br />Here in Arizona, it's a non-issue. We seldom see humidity levels above 50%. Today it's 6%.<br />THat doesn't help you, but I believe the constant wetting and drying adds to the rot problem, especially in northern climes.
